The present invention relates to recoil management systems. More specifically, recoil management systems that work in conjunction with commonly available tripods, for example, those utilized with cameras.
The traditional manner of achieving maximum accuracy in rifle shooting requires a shooter to be prone, lying on the ground, or requires the rifle to be rigidly supported on a bench support. However, the prone position is often obstructed by obstacles (such as tall grass, fallen trees, low walls, and even rises and falls in geography) and a bench support is rarely available while hunting, in mobile shooting competitions, or on a battlefield.
The stability with which a rifle may be maintained is important to the accuracy with which it can be fired. Conversely, the ease of transporting a rifle and ancillary equipment, as well as the speed with which it can be brought to bear, can be important to success during hunting. Often these considerations are at odds with one another, with stability being obtained by burdensome and complicated equipment, and with ease of transporting a rifle and ancillary equipment being obtained with equipment that compromises stability.
Equipment suitable for fully unsupported shooting positions typically rely on bone support rather than muscle support for the rifle to reduce fatigue and movement of the rifle during shooting. Often the unsupported shooting positions will include a sling to reduce strain on the bicep of the supporting arm to further stabilize the rifle shooting position. While shooting with an unsupported position requires little more than a rifle for transport and can assume a shooting position quickly, there are substantial limits to the stability with which the rifle may be held, even when using a sling to stabilize and support the shooting arm.
Equipment suitable for fully supported shooting positions typically rely on a rifle rest, such as those available at commercial shooting ranges, that not only completely support the rifle, but also substantially reduce the felt recoil. While suitable for a commercial shooting range, such rifle rests are unworkable in a hunting situation because they are intended to be utilized with shooting benches. Moreover, the rifle rests often rely to a large extent on weight to reduce the felt recoil, making their transportation during hunting impractical.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,899 discloses a tripod mounted combined gun rest and arm rest. The gun rest includes a platform adapted to be mounted on a tripod. The platform includes a forward gun cradle and a rear gun cradle, each of which is mounted in an adjustment slot disposed within the platform. The tripod is a conventional photographic tripod. The forward gun cradle and the rear gun cradle can be adjusted so that the center of gravity of the gun is centered over the tripod. The platform with cradles tends to be relatively complicated, and the rifle recoil tends to result in disrupting the position of the tripod making repeated shooting burdensome because the tripod needs to be readjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,785 discloses a gun holder device that includes a gun support device with a body that defines a channel therein, with the channel being structured to resist lateral motion of the gun. The gun support device is structured to be mounted on a tripod, which may be a conventional tripod that is typically used in photography. In addition to being burdensome to carry, the rifle recoil tends to result in disrupting the position of the tripod making repeated shooting burdensome because the tripod needs to be readjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,740 discloses a combination camera mount and gun mount. The gun mount includes mounting units for holding a rifle, attached at either end of the mounting beam. The mounting beam is pivotally attached to a cylindrical post, which is held in place by the mounting unit. A camera mount may be attached to the mounting beam. The rifle recoil tends to result in disrupting the position of the tripod making repeated shooting burdensome because the tripod needs to be readjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,668 discloses a weapon rest having a base in the form of a tripod supporting a shaft. A cradle is pivotally secured to the top of the shaft. A swivel head at the top of the shaft permits horizontal rotation of the cradle, while the pivot pin permits vertical rotation of the cradle. A spring is connected between the shaft and cradle to provide tension, which is claimed to enhance accuracy. The rifle recoil tends to result in disrupting the position of the tripod making repeated shooting burdensome because the tripod needs to be readjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,884 discloses a recoil suppressing gun support. The gun support includes a base member that is structured to mount on the window sill of a hunting shelter. A barrel support is mounted on one end of the base. A cradle is mounted on the opposite end of the base. A mounting plate is attached to the bottom surface of the base by a bolt, in a manner that permits rotation of the base relative to the mounting plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,823,318 discloses a rifle recoil absorption system. The recoil absorption system includes a harness having a large loop of webbing material extending along both sides of the fore stock and stock of the rifle, wrapping around the butt. Smaller loops extending around the shoulder stock and fore stock, respectively, hold the loop in place. An attachment strap is secured to the loop of the rifle harness. The attachment strap passes underneath a table, and attaches to the back end of the table by utilizing a U-shaped clamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,786 discloses another rifle recoil absorption system.
Recoil reduction structures that are inherently limited to being used in a static location such as a shooting bench are not suitable for being used in mobile locations, such as on a hunting trip. Recoil reduction structures that are complicated to assemble are likewise not especially suitable for being used in mobile locations, especially when speed is desirable for the rifle to be brought to bear, which can be important to success during hunting. Furthermore, recoil reduction structures that are suitable to be supported by a tripod, tend to often result in the tripod being substantially moved during firing resulting in requiring substantial realignment for the next firing.
Accordingly, it is desirable for a recoil reduction structure suitable for being used in mobile locations which are not complicated to assemble, and then when used on a tripod do not tend to result in the tripod being substantially moved during firing to reduce the need for realignment for the next firing.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention may be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.